Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Indian gooseberry and shoe flower mocktail

I have travelled home to be with my parents just for about two weeks and then to attend the first of its kind Indian Food Bloggers Meet in Bangalore, in less than ten days time.
I chose to travel light and did not bother to carry much of my equipment that would help me write a post, take pictures and blog about that. However, each update on the IFBM page gets us the participants more excited. Some of the sponsors have announced interesting contests and I am chiding myself for not being prepared for surprises. I would have loved to participate in all of those announced, though not hoping to win, yet to feel good about trying.
One of the sponsors Urban Dazzle have a simple contest for the participants. We just have to make a cocktail or mocktail with Indian flavours and blog about it. We abstain from any form of alcohol and thus I went on to prepare a mocktail. My nephew is around and both of us were voicing choices out that my mother got pulled in. After much debate, we went for this mocktail, I wish to share here as an entry to the contest.
In the past few months, as suggested by someone, my father is trying out a small ounce of hibiscus tea and consumes one steamed Indian gooseberry with his meal.This is a practice to keep his blood pressure under check along side his regular prescribed medicines. So both flower and fruit were available at home and all I needed was a soda drink that will add to the flavour.
The below recipe serves three in 330 ml tall glasses, I wish I could serve them in these Urban Dazzle glasses shown in their website.
Indian Gooseberry and shoeflower mocktail


What we had on hand
10-12 fresh hibiscus flowers/ shoe flowers
10 Indian gooseberries/ amla/ nellikkai chopped to come up to 1 cup and 1/3rds of the same
1/4 cup sweetened gooseberry candy chopped
Juice of three limes
1" piece fresh ginger grated
250 ml of 7up drink
Sugar syrup from 150 grams sugar


  How we combined the drink





We put the fresh hibiscus in a large pitcher and added the juice from the limes. We squeezed these by hand until the flower dissolved in the juice. We added some water and part of the sugar syrup.
We blended the goose berries, berry candy and the ginger in a blender and strained it.
We mixed both the juices and adjust the sweetness by adding sufficient sugar syrup.



To serve we placed a few ice cubes in glasses, poured in the juice and topped off with the 7 up drink.
Though both of the fruit and flower can be separately had as drinks, this combination worked wonderfully for the mocktail.
Don't you think it will be a great party pleaser too?

5 comments:

  1. Wow, really healthy, fresh an innovative as well.
    Bet it will taste great too :)

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  2. wow wonderful use of Hibiscus flower in this vibrant mocktail :) looks so refreshing !!

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  3. something fresh and inew and truly innovative and cool and refreshing.

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  4. What a welcome drink as soon as I land in MUmbai Lata!

    ReplyDelete

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